Minuteman in the Opinion of the Reporter

Minuteman

In the opinion of the reporter George Putnam, while one fights for freedom somewhere else in the world, one could at that moment be in fact losing one's own freedom. He also states, on air as well as in other media that the United States of America is being invaded by an inordinate number of aliens, and unless this is controlled, the citizens of America could well lose their own freedom. He goes on to emphasize on the fact that being a Californian, and sharing a common border with Mexico, has meant that he has been suffering both economically as well as culturally, in the hands of foreign illegal invaders, who have been completely responsible for violating the very sovereignty of the state. This in turn has led to the miserable state of affairs present in the 'Immigration and Naturalization Services Department', and, in the opinion of the reporter George Putnam, unless something is done about this, there will be trouble in the future. He goes on to say that it is out of this 'growing disaster' that a heroics group of people has come into being, and this group is known as the 'Minutemen'. (One Reporter's Opinion, One man's Civil Homeland Defense)

These are mere civilians, who are prepared to do the job of the government, in the present situation where the government has refused to take action and protect the public against such disasters and foreign invasions. These civilians therefore are at present doing the job of protecting others from violent criminals, armed drug smugglers, terrorists of various kinds, and so on, who have been pouring into the country through illegal means. However, says George Putnam, the government, instead of welcoming such efforts being undertaken by civilians of the United States of America, has in fact started to consider this group as its enemy. Chris Simcox belongs to this group that calls itself 'Minutemen', and this individual was, in fact, a teacher in Los Angeles, and he actually quit his job, and put all his available funds into the newspaper called 'Tombstone Tumbleweed' started in Arizona. As a matte of fact, Chris Simcox and his small group of 'Civil Homeland Defense' are at this minute busy patrolling the Arizona / Mexico border. (One Reporter's Opinion, One man's Civil Homeland Defense)

Chris Simcox is one of the many civilians who are today completely engrossed in attempts to 'protect the borders against illegal invasions', and he is a young man who totes his big, two toned .45 in a hard plastic holster, and he is never ever seen without his gun. Chris Simcox more often than not speaks to the media, while making sure that his gun is visible in every single frame, and he makes statements about sovereignty, the rules of law, and the Pledge of Allegiance, but his primary body language however, does not match his powerful words and sentiments; he seems to be an individual who is extremely fond of toting his gun wherever possible. It is Simcox's belief that it is the numerous Mexican drug dealers that are running the United States today, and that they are the individuals who are in the process of ruining the economy of America. (Patriots on the Borderline)

At the age of forty two, Chris Simcox is the owner, the editor, the publisher, the reporter, the circulation manager, and also the advertisement manager of the weekly magazine, 'Tombstone Tumbleweed', with a circulation of 1,200. In his October 24 issue, Chris Simcox had declared "Enough is enough! A Public Call to Arms!," wherein he exhorted all his readers to join a group named 'Citizens Border Patrol Militia', whose primary aim and objective would be to literally 'shame' the government into performing its own job of protecting the borders of the United States of America from illegal immigrants and aliens, and he also invited his readers to come up with a suitable solution that would be able to handle these important security issues in a better manner. In his own words, Chris Simcox has said, "We need some good old-fashioned discipline in this country," and this is his sole purpose in life today.

Although his newspaper does not circulate beyond Tumbleweed, it was when the Internet happened to publish Simcox's article that he became a truly global figure, because this was when many more people came to know about this individual and his attempts to fortify the borders against immigrants, despite being a civilian. There have been monetary donations, as well as volunteers offering to help, but the fact is, Chris Simcox is truly vague about what exactly he wants his volunteers to do. He states that when he dose find an illegal immigrant, all he can do is to detain him for perhaps fifteen minutes, issue a warning, and let him go, because, otherwise, he would most probably be charged by the police for the offense of kidnapping. (Patriots on the Borderline)

What exactly caused such a stampede of immigrants in this particular corner of Arizona was the passing of the new Border Patrol Policy in the year 1994. Before this time, border patrol officers would generally lie in wait, and observe whether illegal immigrants were trying to cross the borders, and when they would do so, they would be caught. However, in the year 1993, the Chief of the Border Patrol's El Paso sector, Sylvester Reyes, decided to make his men stand right on the line in order to catch illegal immigrants, and he also built a Berlin Wall type of fence around the area. This new strategy implemented by Reyes was called 'Operation Hold the Line', and the success of the plan lay in not how many were caught, but in how few.

The strategy was an inordinate success, and other border patrols followed suit, and today, it is a fact that the number of people who want to come into the United States has not decreased, in fact, these people are today taking more risks, and attempting to cross the borders through the deserts, and this has resulted in more immigrants losing their lives while trying to cross over, than the number of people who lost their lives trying to cross the Berlin Wall in all the twenty eight years when it existed. However, it must be remembered that this strategy has been difficult on the rural Americans who live in Arizona, because of the fact that this has today become the more popular route for immigrants attempting to cross over into America. (Patriots on the Borderline)

In Arizona, especially, immigrants continue to pour in, in undiminished numbers, even after the September 11 debacle, and while it must be stated that the federal government has acted quickly in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks, it has done absolutely nothing to try to stem the rising tide of immigrants trying to enter the U.S.A. This is the primary reason that Chris Simcox has declared 'war' or more appropriately, 'non-war' against the American government, which, he states, is letting the people of America down very badly indeed. In recent years, especially after the new Border Patrol Policy of 1994, mass illegal immigration into Arizona has increased significantly, and since immigrants could not cross over from their usual places, they had to choose alternate routes, and this is where Arizona was affected, because this was the place that immigrants chose more often than not to get into America. (The Federal Government has met the enemy, and they are the Tombstone Militia)

As a direct consequence, these illegal immigrants would enter into private property, often plundering and burglarizing it, and also leave a trail of garbage, refuse, excrement and rubbish behind, which the rural people would have to undertake to clean up. All the complaints that were forwarded to Washington and to the president George Bush went completely unheard, and on the other hand, any hints at all of civilian action or enforcements would bring forth immediate federal crackdowns. This in fact was exactly what happened to Chris Simcox and it was when all his complaints to the government and to President Bush went unheeded, despite proof that immigration laws were being constantly and blatantly violated that he decided to take matters into his own hands to control unmitigated immigration of illegal immigrants, and therefore started his militant group known as the 'Tombstone Militia' or also the 'Minutemen'. This decision has resulted in federal and government agencies making continued attempts to crack down on Chris Simcox, and hauling him for hearing to determine whether or not he has violated any laws in forming his group of civilian militia men whose duty it would be to protect the borders of the country from illegal invasions. (The Federal Government has met the enemy, and they are the Tombstone Militia)

Michael Gaddy is of the opinion that since he is a member of the group of about 875 militia men committed to patrolling the borders of his country so that aliens do not enter into the United States of America, known as the Tombstone Militia, or also as the 'Minutemen', he is in essence, a 'True Patriot'. He also says that the president George Bush, when he referred to these patrolmen as "vigilantes', he was partly right, because they were indeed vigilantes, unlike the government of America, which did not actually want to take any action whatsoever in preventing masses of illegal immigrants into entering the country through certain border areas. All the members of this group are volunteers, and they are completely pledged to doing their mite for their own country. (On the Border with the Vigilantes)

Michael Gaddy describes how one elderly couple actually drove their van all the way from Utah in order to spend some time on the border to spot and catch any illegal entrants into the country through the borders, and the amazing fact was that the elderly man had lost one leg to cancer, but this did not deter him in the least to drive down so that he could save his country from being controlled by aliens. Another couple who volunteered was a husband and wife team from Southern California. The man's wife was of natural Philippine descent, and she in fact described the way in which her father, a member of the United States Navy, saved up his money for more than ten years, so that he would be able to bring his family over to the United States, legally. It was the opinion of this young lady that all that her father had done had become a mere mockery in the face of the hordes of illegal immigrants entering the United States today.

Another interesting volunteer was the grandmother from Southern California, who drove down from her home with five grandchildren, all in their late teens or early twenties. After having undergone the required four hour training and orientation procedures; these people stayed on the border from many hours and then drove back home, having done their might for their beloved country. The Chief of Police from Missouri and his wife was another couple of volunteers who wanted to be a part of 'Minutemen'. It was in fact the wife that happened to spot about twelve illegal aliens attempting to enter the country through the infamous Highway 92, also known as the 'Drug Corridor'. As per the required procedure, or the SOP, or the Standard Operating Procedure of the Minutemen, she called out to the Border Patrol, and they managed to capture eight of them, while the remaining four had already disappeared. These people could be terrorists, or drug dealers, or anybody else who could well have used contraband against innocent American citizens. (On the Border with the Vigilantes)

Another man heard the flying of numerous birds out of the Naco line in the early morning hours, and he too called out to the Border Patrol. The Border Patrol in turn discovered illegal immigrants carrying seventeen bundles of drugs carrying what is named 'other than marijuana', attempting to enter the country with their bundles of drugs, and it was due to the vigilance of that elderly man that the country was saved from yet more infiltrations of illegal drugs. Also very touching is the story of how a wife and her husband stopped at the desk of the Minutemen, and thanked the Minutemen for their good work. The story says how that woman had tears in her eyes when she said that she was now able to sleep all through the night without fear of immigrants entering her property, and she also said that now she could allow her grandchildren to play in her yard without watching out for their safety at all times of the day.

Michael Gaddy goes on to emphasis the fact that although there were many questions about the veracity and the real functions of the Minutemen, it is a fact that not a single complaint form the 'rank and file' departments has come their way. In fact, it can even be said that Minutemen are in fact very courteous and respecting and also supportive of the rank and file men, and since most of the volunteers are either retired firefighters, or retired policemen, or other professionals, they have not caused any reason for complaint at all. In fact, they have taken their duties of vigilantes very seriously, and have been successful patrolling the borders and preventing illegal immigrants from entering the country. As a matter of fact, the fact that today, the bulk of illegal alien traffic has been shifted out of the Naco corridor, and this can be attributed to the hard work and efforts of these Minutemen who have been sacrificing their sleep so that they can stay awake the entire night trying to spot illegal aliens. (On the Border with the Vigilantes)

It is a fact that the governor Richardson had to declare a state of emergency because of the increasing tension along the U.S. And Mexico border, and this is his opinion about the Minutemen. What he says is that although Minutemen may be very well intentioned, it is a fact that they are not at all well trained, and they lack the necessary skills needed for handling illegal aliens and illegal firearms. (Richardson, Minuteman discuss Border Crisis) However, when the emergency was declared, the Minutemen agreed that it was a victory for them, because this was when the federal agents were work better. It is still the Governor Richardson's stand that Minutemen are not really needed along the borders, primarily because they are all untrained civilians. (ACLU prepares for Minutemen)

What will the emergency achieve, other than perhaps make an additional $3.25 millions available for the law enforcement agencies of the country? However, there is another purpose that has been served, and this is to bring attention to the desperate situation of lawlessness at the borders of the United States of America, despite increasing border patrols, and the vigilant patrols being carried out by the Minutemen. (Border Emergency, Yes, but what's the answer?) In general, there is a widespread consensus that although the Minutemen are in fact doing a good job of their vigilance activities, they are also, at the same time, causing fear among workers and contractors who are at this time in actual and real ear for their lives, when they catch a glimpse of the Minutemen patrolling the borders with guns drawn. This led to the ACLU adopting certain measure so that the situation would be improved to an extent. This is why they have today started to train volunteers in El Paso in order to monitor the Minutemen while they were on their own patrols along the border. (Activists say Minutemen causing fear; ACLU offers training in El Paso)